Smart Home, with residence as its platform, utilizes generic cabling technology, network communications technology, security technology, automatic control technology and audio-video technology to integrate home life-related facilities, construct high-efficiency residential facilities and management system for family matters, improve home safety, convenience, comfortableness and artistry, and achieve an environmental friendly and energy-saving living environment.
The current names for Smart Home are in the dozens, for example, Electronic Home (e-Home), Digital family, Home Automation, Home net/Networks for Home, Network Home, Intelligent home, etc. Although the names are different, their meanings and desired functions are basically the same.
Smart Home is defined as a system utilizing computer, network and generic cabling technologies, integrating various home life-related subsystems through family information management platform. First of all, a communication network is built in the home, to provide necessary channels for family information and achieve control and monitoring on all home appliances and facilities on the family network through corresponding hardware and executive agencies under the control of family network operating system. Secondly, they all form communication channels with the outside through certain media in order to communicate information with the outside world, satisfying the need for remote control/monitoring and information exchange. Lastly, their final goal is to satisfy people's need for safety, comfortableness, convenience and environmental protection.
As communication technology evolves, when wired Smart Home is forced out of the market due to intricate cabling, difficulty to promote and excessive cost, wireless transmission technology becomes the best choice for new generation Smart Home due to no need for cabling and easy installation. However, Smart Home products on the current market, due to merits of different transmission technology, lead to a situation that multiple communication technologies (e.g. Bluetooth, WiFi, and ZigBee) coexist, and, employing different wireless standards result in low interoperability between Smart Home products from different manufacturers, severely limiting the promotion and application of Smart Home.